I dreamt about it for months. Still comes up now and then. The corner of Hemlock and Dogwood Lane is a childhood memory I wish I could forgive. It was three days after my ninth birthday. Snow was already on the ground. Month from hell. Two weeks prior, my dad had his brand new Chevrolet Silverado truck stolen. It was the first and last fresh-off-the-lot car he ever bought. He had it for six days before someone hot wired it from his construction site in Chicago. My mom lost her job two days after my dad paid for it. Airline cut backs. All I wanted for my birthday was a puppy. I had been begging for a dog for as long as I could remember. I walked every dog in the neighborhood a dollar a walk just to save up so I could get one. My parents finally surprised me with one a couple months in advance. His name was Cody, he was the most playful yellow Labrador Id ever met. I was helping my mom clean up dinner. She had made spaghetti and if I didn’t wash the red sauce out of the bowls right away I’d really have to scrub them later. My dad was lacing up his boots getting ready to return his rent-a-truck. My brother was putting on his jacket. Cody was pacing by the front door; he always got jittery when he knew my dad was getting ready to leave. My mom and I just finished the dishes as my dad and brother took off. The recycling was overflowing so casually my mom went to take it out. When she came back in the screen door didn’t shut all the way. Cody liked to run. He loved to be chased and I loved to chase him. He had run out before, but he never got too far before we caught up to him. Cody was still pacing. He went to the door. One nudge with his nose and it poked open. I was in the kitchen. Watching him. Awaiting the chase I knew would come. My heart began to race. A smile split across my face. He hesitated for a split second, gave me one last look and BAM we were off. I saw the screen slam behind him. I didn’t even bother to put on shoes. I was ready to go. The chase had always been so exciting. It was our game. Our small heart pumping secret. I ran out the door right after him. We lived two houses down from the corner of Hemlock and Dogwood. He couldn’t have been more than twenty feet ahead of me. Cody didn’t even see it coming. He was just around the corner, when he hit a Buick head on. It tore the skin from his chest up past his ear. I don’t remember hearing myself scream. I couldn’t even feel the snow under my bare feet. The next thing I knew I was holding him. His whole body was trembling. It was the first time Id ever noticed that blood was warm. I just held him. I couldn’t let go. He was all I had. My dad worked eighty hour weeks, my mom worked nights, my brother had friends. I had Cody. The image is still a blur. My dad had to rip me off him. The car never even stopped. He was eleven months old. I stopped liking March after that, hell I stopped liking birthdays. His blood stained that street corner for almost a year. It was also my bus stop. I got to stare at it before school every Monday through Friday. An endless reminder of something I could have stopped. I relived that dream for years. Sometimes I shut my eyes and I wake up in that kitchen. Sometimes I get him back for just a few seconds.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:33:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015